Revelations have emerged missing preschooler Cleo Smith was probably already gone by the time police began their desperate search and that some campers from the site her family stayed at may not be cooperating.
Cleo disappeared from her parents tent while staying at the Blowholes campsite in Western Australia sometime between 1.30am and 6.30am on Saturday, October 16. She was wearing a pink jumpsuit.
Her parents and emergency services intially thought she had simply wandered off.
But after the first day of search the area chopper pilots knew something more sinister could be at play.
Justin Borg, who took the desperate call from her parents and sent his Coral Coast Helicopter Services team out to search for the girl, said his team of 'world class' musterers closely scoured the surrounding area before police arrived.
He said missing people are found quickly from the air and that little Cleo's pink jumpsuit would have made finding her simple.
'When we go and search for somebody, if they are in the area you find them really quick. Especially if you are talking abnormal colours,' he said.
On Friday, the campground search came to a disapointing end with investigators shifting away from the theory that she simply wandered off.
The case is now a suspected abuduction and police have not ruled out the little girl may have been taken interstate.
Cleo Smith, four, was last seen at about 1.30am on Saturday at the Blowholes campsite on the coast at Macleod, north of Carnarvon, in Western Australia. Police now believe some of the campers who were at the site have failed to come forward and help investigations
The chopper's initial searches, which lasted hours, began at a height of around 90 metres from the ground.
Then they dropped to just 10 metres from the ground for a much closer examination.
Mr Borg said by the time the service's helicopter went out a second time on a day-long search with authorities, they were already 'pretty sure' she wasn't in the area.
The helicopter pilots who responded within minutes to desperate calls for help said their search probably eliminated the chances Cleo had wandered off. Pictured is Justin Borg of Coral Coast Helicopter Services
Cleo Smith was last seen at the Blowholes campsite near Carnarvon in WA. Her suspected kidnapper could have taken her down a number of different trails which snake off from the main road
Cleo (pictured with her baby sister) was barely one when her stepdad met her mum and 'took her on as his own'
After seven days, investigators are no closer to figuring out what happened to little Cleo.
Despite the offer of a $1million reward from the WA government, campers who were at the Blowholes camp site where tiny Cleo vanished a week ago have failed to identify themselves, Western Australian police believe.
Police earlier said everyone staying in the area was a person of interest and needed to speak with police so they could be eliminated as suspects.
Detectives have since confirmed they believe Cleo was abducted from the tent she shared with her mum, stepdad and baby sister Isla between 1.30am and 6am last Saturday.
Friends of Cleo's family said the smart four-year-old (pictured) 'wouldn't just wander' away from the tent
Search crews have decided to scale back the land investigation at the campsite
The police officer at the head of the investigation into the four-year-old girl's heartbreaking likely abduction from her tent at the campsite 75 kilometres north of Carnarvon last Saturday morning was sure some campers had not been 'identified' yet.
'I don't want to get into specifics, but certainly we know, there were other people that could've camped on that coastal strip and there's different access points,' said Taskforce Rodia leader Detective-Superintendent Rod Wilde, The West Australian reported.
He said the police were continuing investigations into who those unidentified campers might be.
But he also added he didn't want to give 'false hope' of a fast outcome because of the 'complex' nature of the investigations.
There are mounting concerns for little Cleo Smith's (pictured with her mum Ellie and partner Jake Gliddon) safety after she went missing at a remote campsite on Saturday morning
A land search was suspended on Tuesday due to wild winds and an intense storm. It started again just hours later
Some of the initial wild theories included that she had been swept out to sea with the tides, fallen down a 'drop hole' toilet in the ground or fell off a cliff
Earlier it was revealed search efforts at the campsite where little Cleo was last seen were hampered from the very first moment detectives arrived.
The Blowholes campsite had been torn upside down as Cleo's mum, stepdad and other guests searched for the missing four-year-old on Saturday morning.
By the time police arrived 'about mid-morning', search parties had been out for hours, trampling all over potential clues to her disappearance.
After scouring the campsite and surrounds for six days - including extensive sea and air searches - police were confident that she was no longer in the area.
While they'll continue to check outhouses and shacks nearby for evidence, the land search was scaled back on Friday as the 100-strong taskforce directs efforts to casting a wider net.
The adult-sized sleeping bag Cleo was sleeping in has also disappeared, police confirmed
How this week's events have unfolded:
FRIDAY
Cleo and her family arrived at Blowholes campsite about 6.30pm on Friday night for a quick weekend trip.
Cleo's mum Ellie used to visit regularly when she was a child and later confirmed her four-year-old was familiar with the area.
Her stepdad Jake Gliddon got straight to work setting up their two-bedroom tent, two mattresses and baby Isla's cot, which was in a room with Cleo.
The family ate dinner together and Cleo was in bed no later than 8pm, her mum later revealed.
While nobody else physically saw Cleo at the campsite, Superintendent Rod Wilde, who is in charge of the taskforce, said police determined she was definitely there via CCTV footage from a nearby shack.
It is not known if that camera caught any other movements during the timeframe Cleo disappeared.
Body language experts have weighed in on the interview analysing the gestures, tone of voice and facial expressions of the couple
The family were all asleep in the tent when Cleo stirred about 1.30am to ask her mum for a sip of water. Ms Smith quickly settled the four-year-old and, after her drink, she went straight back to sleep.
She didn't wake again until about 6am, when a restless Isla woke up for her bottle. As soon as Ms Smith entered the section of the tent where Isla and Cleo were sleeping, she realised her eldest daughter was gone.
The red and grey sleeping bag that Cleo had been sleeping in was also missing, while Isla was unmoved in her cot next to the mattress.
She woke Mr Gliddon up, telling him 'Cleo's gone' and together they alerted nearby campers and the search began.
First, they checked around the tent and Ms Smith then checked anywhere she used to play as a kid, hopeful that Cleo was hiding. In the back of her mind, she knew it was unlikely. Cleo never wandered and would not have left the tent of her own accord, the distraught mother later confirmed.
Police didn't arrive on the scene until mid-morning. It's unclear exactly what time they were called, but by the time they arrived a full scale search was already underway.
Some campers had sent personal drones up to the skies while others were searching on their motorbikes. Ms Smith and Mr Gliddon had taken their car out to look as well.
SUNDAYMs Smith revealed on Facebook that Cleo was missing in a distraught and lengthy post.
Meanwhile, the search at the campsite continued as Inspector Jon Munday said cars leaving the campground were
